Don Cheadle Quotes

As an actor, one's role is very much to respond and react to the situation within the context of the character and his world.

I think that different actors go about their preparation differently, but when it comes to acting, I use my imagination.

When you do a play, or even a movie, you have weeks to finesse your character. You really understand why they do what they do. In TV, you get new material weekly about your character.

I work a lot; I love to compose, ponder, and take notes when preparing for a role. I cut all the scenes, collate the images, form the character and shape its personality, then I make meticulous notes and transcribe each scene on my notebook.

When I do film, I really take on roles and I take on characters.

I'm not the kind of actor that would know what my character had for breakfast last Tuesday.

Creating a role is an interesting thing - each show or each situation is different.

I just happen to like the work. I like preparing for a role. I like reading. I like analyzing. I like literature. I like emotions. I like working with other actors.

I'm still fighting really hard to get any role I get. If it's comedy, I go for the laughs. And if it's drama, I try to tell the truth, and try to play the real stakes of whatever scenario the character's in.

I've been on projects before where there's no rehearsal, and you walk in on set and that's literally the first time you've ever played the character, and then I've had times where there's been three weeks of rehearsal. I like both.

I think that I've still not been successful at playing the role of the retired actor, and I'd like to work on that.

With any mannerisms or dialogue, you have to be careful you're not just serving yourself. What happens with improving is a lot of times, if you're not in the framework of the script, you're just making everything easier so it fits you.

When you get to set, you don't try to play the plot; you just play the character.

We play many emotions in our careers, emotions that in real life we would perform just once. For example, my character has died in about 10 films, so you have to keep searching for different ways to do it!

As an actor, your first priority is the work - immersing yourself in the role, backstory, and bringing that to screen.

I like to prepare for my roles well, so you can call me a method actor to an extent.

As an actor, I'm more interested in characters the longer I have lived with them.

Whenever I read a script, I don't differentiate between a kissing scene or an emotional scene.

Most actors do that. They fill in the blanks. You don't want to play a cipher.

As an actor, you tend to just look at the script till you get to your stuff.

Building a character - nothing gives me more high than the process of exploring someone else's life on screen.

For any role, I pretty much always go to the script, first and foremost.

I'm the sort of actor who likes to talk about what we're going to do.

I don't really prepare for roles. I just kind of do them!

You have to like the characters you play.